


The Smart Bet

by AgentOklahoma



Series: The Study of Romance [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, college professor au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 17:52:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11318571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOklahoma/pseuds/AgentOklahoma
Summary: A one-shot introduction to the College Professors Jaytim AU, where Jason Todd, the Comparative Literature professor at Gotham University interacts with Tim Drake, the new Electrical Engineering professor.





	The Smart Bet

“ _’The tiny wick collapsed and went out. Just then, the physician fell down to the ground, and then, at last, he was in the hands of Death’._ Now, what parallels can be drawn between the French and German iterations of _‘Godfather Death_ ’?” Jason called out to the lecture hall, placing the thick text down and picking up a bowl of wrapped Japanese candies, his treat for the class from his most recent trip overseas.

“Death is inescapable?” Allen piped up from the back row.

“True but not quite the point I’m looking for,” Jason replied, throwing a single candy to the young man in the back.

“That Death is unbiased?” Callie tried, receiving a candy like her fellow classmate but also a ‘nearly there’ expression from the professor.

“Getting closer.”

“That humanity is incapable of being unbiased in the face of temptation?” Josie called from the centre right. Jason pointed at her with a finger-gun and clicked, then tossed a piece of candy to her, narrowly avoiding hitting her neighbor in the head when she reached for it.

“While Death’s unbiased nature is the reason he was chosen as godfather to the physician, that same nature is what lead to the physician’s demise and was against his interests in the end. While humanity craves unbiased treatment from these otherworldly forces, like Death, sometimes humanity needs a little bit of bias in order to-“

Jason was interrupted by the sudden thudding click of every light in the room shutting off, a shocked gasp from some of the students at the sudden darkness echoing through the lecture hall.

“Its alright guys, just stay- ow!” Jason bit out when he accidentally stubbed his tow on the desk beside him as he attempted to get to his phone. It took some fumbling, and some assistance from the students and their very helpful cellphone flashlights to locate his own cell phone and call up Professor Pennyworth.

“ _Professor Todd, I’m aware of the current situation and there’s no need to worry. It is merely a blackout. I am currently making arrangements to relocate the rest of the days lectures but for now, if at all possible, an outside setting may be necessary,”_ Alfred explained before Jason had a moment to speak.

“Do we know what happened?”

 _“Not as of yet. If you wish to continue your lecture, I believe the Composition Studies lecture group are moving to the front courtyard by the fountains and the Applied Ethics class will be setting up by the north end of the bay-side part of the campus,”_ Alfred replied, moving away from the phone, his words to someone else in the room muffled but still clear enough to hear. “ _Please tell Professor Drake that regardless of his discipline, it is not automatic permission to attempt to fix the university’s electrical grid,”_ he informed whoever was with him.

“Wait, wait, that caffeine injected lunatic from the robotics lab? He’s gonna fucking electrocute himself.”

“ _Language, Professor Todd_ , _and it seems I may be too late to stop him, he is already on his way to the switchboards_ ,” Alfred sounded as though he was moving quickly through the halls, bidding Jason a hasty goodbye before hanging up on Jason.

“Shit. Okay, guys, we’ll set up shop by the south end of the boardwalk, I’ll meet you there, I’ve just gotta make a detour,” Jason called out over the din of his students packing their things and getting ready to move.

“Are you going to stop Professor Drake?” Allen asked, his face lit up by the glow of his phone screen. “’Cause Tally says he’s already at the switchboard and touching things,” he added, just before a muffled but still cacophonous bang rumbled through the walls, followed by the lights flickering on.

“Goddamnit. Just hang here, I’ll be back. Eat some candy,” Jason called out as the students returned to their seats, plopping the bowl of sweets on the first students’ desk he passed by to get to the door.

There were signs of disrupted classes throughout the wing, some professors sticking their heads out of the doorways of their lecture halls, some voices calling out to Jason as he passed by but he didn’t stop until he arrived at the switchboard, his senses immediately assaulted by the smell of smoke and the sound of pained cursing.

“Hey, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Jason snapped, the engineering professor waving the minor amount of smoke away from the switchboard, muted coughs coming from his throat.

“Fixing the electrician who wired this place’s screw up,” Professor Drake replied, words muffled slightly by the pliers sticking out of his mouth, not looking at Jason as he cleared the air around him before sticking his hands into the open panel.

“And frying yourself in the process, get your hands out of there and wait for the maintenance guy before you kill yourself,” Jason insisted.

“I taught the maintenance guy. Pretty sure I’m qualified enough to fix a couple of wires,” the engineering professor grumbled. A few moments later, Professor Drake moved away, removing a pair of black gloves, shoving them into the back pocket of his jeans before taking a tool from the kit beside him that Jason hadn’t even noticed and replaced the panel, checking it was secure before packing up and walking away, not sparing a glance towards Jason as he left the literature professor alone in the room.

“Fucking science faculty,” Jason growled on his way back to his own lecture hall. When he returned, his students were gathered in small groups, talking animatedly to each other and looking at their phones before the not-at-all-subtle click of the door closing behind him drew their attention.

“Is Professor Drake okay?”

“Depends on your definition. He’s not smoking and twitching on the ground but he probably needs a visit to the psychology department,” muttered the last part bitterly.

“Were you worried about him?” Callie asked with a sly smile on her face.

“I was worried about the poor kid he’d traumatize because he electrocuted himself in the middle of the university,” Jason corrected. But the look on some of his students’ faces and the way they avidly texted piqued his curiosity. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Really? You sure? So its not the betting pool I’ve been hearing about around the Literature and Linguistics department about if certain professors start dating?” Jason proposed, seeing certain students’ faces go pale.

“Well, theoretically, Professor, if a betting pool such as that were to exist,” Penny asked quietly. “What would the smart bet be for you and Professor Drake?” she concluded. There was a pin-drop silence as the class stared at Jason, who managed to retain his cool composure in the face of such an inquiry.

“The smart bet would be to finish this lecture on regional changes in folklore before you all have to submit a twelve page paper on the depiction of the negative consequences of gambling in literature,” Jason replied. The class immediately put their phones away and opened their notebooks and laptops. He waited a few beats. “But I would bet against, on the basis that my type doesn’t include science faculty members with no self-preservation skills.”


End file.
